Today 26 July, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has lifted its advice against travel to the majority of the country including Tunisia's main tourism attractions. (See map: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/tunisia).

“We are delighted to receive this news still in time for last minute summer holiday bookings and the winter season” commented Mounira Ben Cherifa, Director of the Tunisian National Tourist Office in the UK. “We will be communicating with all of our tour operators to see how quickly we can get airlift reinstated, meanwhile Tunis Air are flying daily from London Heathrow and Gatwick into Tunis”.

Tunisia recorded 2,833,781 tourist arrivals, up 29.4% from January 1 to July 10, 2017, compared to the same period in 2016. Regarding the traditional markets of Tunisia, even though European tourists account for only 17% of total arrivals, their number increased by 22.7%. The French ranked first with 228,094 tourists, up 43.1%, followed by Germans (67,912 tourists) and Italians (40,113). The British also returned to Tunisia, with 11,955 arrivals reported.

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Notes to editors

Tunisia is less than 3 hours flying from the UK with daily flights from London Heathrow and Gatwick airports to Tunis.  It is a year-round destination blessed with 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, beautiful landscapes and beaches, world-class golf, great food and the Sahara Desert. Any advice against travel is now limited to the land borders, Tunisia is roughly the same size as England and the most visited areas are on the coast.

For further information about Tunisia, visit www.discovertunisia.com

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